At this moment, Marquis Anning Bai Zhankai was in his wife Ding's room. Ever since Bai Zhankai was injured, the two had been sleeping in separate rooms, but they were not far apart, in the room opposite the hall.

The two usually spoke either in the main hall or at Ding's place.

This is because the two of them used to live in this room.

Ding rarely went to Bai Zhankai's room. For some reason, she didn't want to go, as if going there would infringe on the Marquis's privacy and tear away the last shred of his modesty.

The night was deep, and the hazy moonlight shone through the half-open window. The dim lamplight shone on the exquisitely carved rosewood furniture, reflecting a soft luster.

These pieces of furniture, polished by time, exude the aura of age, as if telling stories of the past.

For example……

When the two first got married, they were a handsome couple. The groom was a master of martial arts and had a tender heart; the bride was innocent, charming, and shy.

The bride could never have imagined that she was completely unaware of the circumstances of their first meeting—she and her sister, accompanied by servants, strolled along Chang'an Street, enthusiastically examining the trinkets on the stalls while chatting and laughing.

The sunlight shone on the sixteen-year-old girl's fair and delicate face, just like sunlight shining on the surface of gently rippling water. The dazzling light also turned into a halo of light, making it impossible to look away.

Especially on the second floor of the restaurant next door, Bai Zhankai, who was sitting by the window drinking with his friends and idly watching the scenery to pass the time, accidentally caught his eye on the woman's face, which was as bright as a cheerful flower, and he couldn't look away.

He just stared at her, mesmerized.

He had seen women before, but in his memory, he had never seen a woman with such clear and innocent eyes and such a radiant and innocent smile.

In his memory, when a woman sees a man, she will look away and cover her mouth with a smile. Even if the woman is not shy, she has to pretend to be like this. This is the standard template for a well-bred lady. Anyone who does not do this will be laughed at.

When his friend greeted him, Bai Zhankai gave a perfunctory reply.

His friend, displeased, also craned his neck to look. Bai Zhankai quickly looked away and retorted to his friend. When he turned to look out the window again, he saw that the woman in front of the stall had changed. The woman who was like a flower about to bloom in the sunlight had disappeared.

Bai Zhankai sighed.

A friend asked him why he sighed.

Bai Zhankai replied, "Because I haven't beaten you up, my fists are itching to punch you."

And so the matter was dropped.

The incident passed, but the woman's smile lingered in Bai Zhankai's mind. Half a year passed, and he reached marriageable age.

As a military officer, he spent most of his time in the barracks and rarely participated in the various tedious social gatherings in the capital. He didn't even know the names of the so-called "Ten Great Talented Women" or "Eight Great Beauties of the Capital."

When the young master of the Marquis of Anning got married, his martial arts skills were unparalleled and his appearance was handsome. Naturally, he attracted the attention of most of the parents of young ladies in the capital who were ready to be married. Matchmakers came to the Marquis's mansion to help find a match for their daughters and also to leave behind a portrait of their daughters.

In just a few days, the old lady had collected a stack of them, waiting for the young marquis to return and choose one.

Bai Zhankai was neither opposed to marriage nor had any expectations for it.

Born into a noble family, he had long been aware of his fate and knew what age and what actions he should take to ensure stability, dignity, and benefit both the Marquis's mansion and himself.

On this day, he arrived at his mother's place.

His mother showed him portraits to choose from, but he declined, saying that when choosing a wife, one should choose a virtuous one, and appearance is not important; he would let his mother decide.

But his mother was an open-minded person and insisted that he see it. She said: Although one should marry a virtuous wife, one should still follow one's heart and desires in life. There are bound to be some disappointments and unavoidable situations in life.

Therefore, we should choose carefully when we have a choice, so that we can accept our fate peacefully when we no longer have a choice.

Bai Zhankai thought it made sense, so he took the portrait and began to look at it.

Each painting depicts a young lady, and judging from the paintings, they are all quite beautiful—of course, this is thanks to the painters; no painter would dare to paint a young lady ugly, even if she were truly unattractive.

The artist focuses more on highlighting the unique features.

When we meet again, even using these characteristics, we can still match the person with the painting.

As he flipped through the pages, he suddenly stopped, because...

The woman in the painting is the same woman he saw in the restaurant half a year ago, the woman he had been thinking about for half a year.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

The old lady noticed and asked in surprise, "What happened?"

Bai Zhankai excitedly recounted the fleeting glimpse he had taken at the restaurant six months ago. His mother laughed upon hearing this and complained to her son why he hadn't told her sooner. If she had, she would have found the woman long ago, instead of worrying about her for half a year.

Bai Zhankai felt ashamed, but secretly pleased.

The old lady brought over the painting, looked at the signature on it, and then frowned.

Bai Zhankai asked, "What's the problem?"

The old lady replied that this was not a woman from an official family, but rather a wealthy household in the capital who sent the portrait to become a concubine.

In the Southern Chu Kingdom, there was an unwritten rule that civil officials must marry a wife before taking a concubine, but military officers in office could take a concubine first if they did not have a suitable wife, or they could have a son born out of wedlock before having a son born of the principal wife.

The reason is simple: compared to civil officials, military officials risk their lives and must have many children, especially male children. Otherwise, if they do not marry and have children for a long time, they will die young and their lineage will be cut off.

For example, the old Marquis of Anning's mansion, though called "old," was actually only in his thirties when he died in battle. Fortunately, he already had wives, concubines, and children before that.

The thought of that radiant woman becoming a subservient and meek concubine filled Bai Zhankai with a sense of unease.

It's like when the weather is perfectly fine, but there's a cloud blocking the sunlight, which is both disappointing and regrettable.

The old lady noticed her son's thoughts and said, "I've noted this woman down. You can continue choosing."

"Alright." Bai Zhankai continued looking at the portraits until he had finished reading the entire stack before putting them down. "Mother, you should choose. I have no objection."

The old lady hesitated, then said, "Since there's no suitable one, let's wait a bit longer and bring this young lady into the manor first."

"don't want."

"?" The old lady was puzzled.

Bai Zhankai suddenly felt depressed. "Don't take her. Just arrange for anyone else."

The old lady asked in confusion, "Kai'er, what's wrong with you? Tell your mother what's on your mind, and I'll help you resolve it."

"It's nothing," Bai Zhankai said, then got up and left.

"Kai'er!" the old lady called out, but found that her son did not turn around.

She knew her son's personality well; once he got involved, he was as stubborn as a mule. If he disagreed with something, not even ten oxen could pull him back.

Finally, the old lady was so angry that she kept wiping away tears, and the maids and nannies around her all came over to coax her carefully.

The old lady was both angry and worried. "Go and call Bai Chang here."

Bai Chang was a servant born into the household who grew up with the young marquis.

The servants hurriedly went to find Bai Chang. The old lady instructed him to try to get information out of the young marquis, to find out his thoughts, but without letting the young marquis find out.

Bai Chang readily agreed and then went.

This journey took ten days.

Bai Chang didn't come back, which means that they couldn't get any information out of him.

The eleventh day, evening.

A maid came to announce that Bai Chang was requesting an audience with the old lady.

The old lady hurriedly let someone in, excitedly asking, "How did it go? Did you manage to get it?"

Bai Chang nodded with a troubled expression, "Reporting to the old lady, we've gotten some information out of her."